


Coming Home

by Bluecandifloss



Category: White Collar
Genre: Hurt Neal Caffrey, New York City, Paris (City), Post Season 6, Worried Peter Burke, worried Elizabeth burke, worried Mozzie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25528666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluecandifloss/pseuds/Bluecandifloss
Summary: After one full year of believing Neal was killed after the takedown of the Pink Panthers, Peter finds evidence that points towards Neal still being alive.This is my take on what I think would happen after s6e6.Set immediately after Peter finds the storage container and figures out that Neal is alive.
Relationships: Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke, Neal Caffrey/Sara Ellis
Comments: 10
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic is dedicated to the amazing CaffreyStans!
> 
> Go give us a follow on Instagram - @caffreystans

Peter’s eyes glanced across everything that was stored within the storage container. It was filled with information and evidence that pointed towards Neal still being alive.

Peter looked at the board that detailed how Neal was able to fake his death with actors he had chosen to play the paramedic and the doctor, as well as, the medication that he had taken to decrease his heart rate. Most importantly though, was the newspaper article about security at the Louvre and the fact that it screamed that Neal was now in Paris.

A smile appeared on his lips as he spun around. His eyes then caught sight on the playing card of the ‘Queen of Hearts’. At that moment he recalled the last thing Mozzie had said before he left the Burke’s house. He had found the storage container just before Peter had and now he was on his way to Paris to join Neal.

Peter stepped out of the storage container and locked it up before heading back to his car that was parked the other side of the chain link fence. He sat in the car for a while. He thought about how happy and relieved he was that Neal was still alive but he also thought about how disappointed he was. Why did Neal do this? Did he want to leave like this all along?

Peter didn’t know the answer to any of these questions but he was determined to get them.

He continued to think about this on the drive back home. It made the trip seem quicker than it actually was and, in no time at all, he was parking the car outside on the street.

He wasted no time in getting out of the car and making his way to the front door. He had decided on the trip home that he needed to tell Elizabeth about what he had just found out. It wasn’t only because she was also upset about Neal’s death but also because he needed some advice.

“Peter? Hon, is that you?” Elizabeth’s voice sounded from the kitchen as Peter shut the door behind him.

“Yeah.” Peter replied, a little quieter than usual. Elizabeth noticed this as Peter made his way through the house to the kitchen to give her a kiss.

“Where did you go in such a hurry?” She asked as they pulled away from each other. “What’s wrong?”

Peter sighed. He wanted to tell his wife about this but he had no idea where he should begin. Should he begin with the bottle or with stating that Neal was alive?

“It’s serious, isn’t it?” Elizabeth asked, noticing the look that was plastered on her husband’s face.

Peter nodded. He was stuck for words.

Elizabeth moved away to grab a bottle of beer out of the fridge and to retrieve her glass of wine from the countertop. “Here.” She said, holding the bottle of beer out to him. He accepted it and followed Elizabeth over to the couch.

“Where did you go?” She asked, knowing that it should be a simple enough question to get this conversation started.

Peter swallowed. “I was at a storage container.”

Elizabeth looked confused at that. “Why?” She asked.

Peter shook his head. “No. I need to explain this from the beginning.”

Elizabeth nodded and waited for her husband to continue.

“You know that bottle of Bordeaux that I found by the front door.” Elizabeth nodded.

“The cork had a number on it. It was a number I recognised.” He took a swig from his bottle of beer. “Something in my head told me that it had something to do with Neal.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened.

“The doctor at the hospital gave me a key when he gave me everything that Neal had on him at the time he—”

Elizabeth nodded. She knew it was something that Peter never wanted to think about. She’d never forget that day, a year ago, that Peter came home completely distraught and disappointed in himself. He felt like he had let Neal down and there was a period of time where that was at the forefront of his mind.

She didn’t understand why he was like that when he came home. He didn’t explain anything about the take-down, apart from the fact that ‘the Pink Panthers’ were now in jail and awaiting trial. She only figured out what was wrong when she asked her husband where Neal was as they had agreed to have a meal together to celebrate Neal’s freedom.

It was then that she knew something had happened. She knew instantly when she didn’t receive any response and when Neal’s name seemed to be some kind of trigger for her husband.

Elizabeth, herself, was also upset with the news that Neal had died hours before getting his freedom from the anklet and the FBI. Neal had seemed like a member of their family since the day he had been released on that anklet all of those years ago and they both mourned for his as if he were their son or brother.

“I didn’t know what the key went to at the time but now I do.” He gave his wife a brief smile. “It went to that storage container that I just came back from.”

“What was in the storage container?” Elizabeth asked.

“Evidence that points towards Neal still being alive.”

“He’s alive!” She exclaimed, making her happiness show.

Peter nodded. “He staged the whole thing.”

“What’s wrong?” Elizabeth asked when she noticed the look that, once again, haunted her husband’s face.

“I don’t know what to think about this. He faked his death.” He turned to face Elizabeth. “Did he do all of that to get away from me? From us?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “Definitely not!” She defended. “The day before the takedown I told Neal to ensure that you made it home.” She blinked away the tears of remembering that moment. “He said that he would, but he also said that we’re his family and I saw the water building up in his eyes as he said it.”

“So, why did he fake his death?” Peter asked. He hoped, more than anything, that his wife could give him the answer that he wants but, deep down, knew that she wouldn’t be able to give him an answer.

“I don’t know.” She replied. “But you can find out.”

Peter’s head whipped around to face her. “How?” He asked. “He’s in Paris and I don’t have his phone number.”

Elizabeth frowned at her husband before smiling again. “Go there.” She stated.

“Go there?” He repeated. “To Paris?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Find him. Bring him home.”

“I can’t.” Peter replied. “I promised you that I’d be here when the baby was born and I’m not going to break that promise. You and our son – Neal – mean so much to me.”

Elizabeth started to tear up a bit at what her husband was saying. “I appreciate that, hon, but you won’t be breaking that promise. Neal is part of this family as well and he needs to be home, where he belongs. This family isn’t whole without him.”

Peter didn’t say anything. He wanted to go to Paris and find Neal but he also wanted to be with El and Neal.

Elizabeth grabbed and held his hands when the silence went on for too long. “Do it. We’ll both be fine.” She smiled. “Find him and bring him home.”

With that, Peter decided that he would go to Paris and bring his friend home.

-•-

The next day, Peter went into work like he would any other day. He had booked his flight to Paris the previous night, with help from Elizabeth, and he would be leaving the at the end of the week. This gave him time to ensure that he put his best agent in charge of the White Collar Unit for the duration of his trip.

“Jones.” He said as he passed Jones’ office, which was next to his own.

Jones looked up when Peter said his name and noticed that it wasn’t the same tone of voice that he used when he was greeting him in the morning. This tone of voice held a deeper meaning so he rose from his desk and followed Peter into the office next door.

“What’s this about?” Jones asked after Peter closed the door once he entered to office.

Peter made his way around the desk. “I need to take charge around here next week.”

Jones nodded. “Of course. Do you mind if I ask why?”

“I can’t tell you much, apart from that I am going to be in Paris.” Peter replied. He didn’t want to tell anyone else about why he was going to Paris until he thought it was best.

Jones nodded, knowing not to ask anymore, before heading out of the office and back to his own.

-•-

The next couple of days, before Peter left for Paris, consisted on Peter going through everything ‘Neal Caffrey’ related to figure out why he would have faked his death. Of course, he came up with nothing.

Finally, he came across the forms that stated that Neal was free at the time of his ‘death’.

When the whole operation regarding ‘the Pink Panther’s’ came to an end last year, Peter was ridden with guilt at the fact that he was partly to blame for Neal’s death. Everyone had told him that he couldn’t have seen it coming and, eventually, he began to believe that. However, during that period he felt that they only thing he could do for Neal was ensure that he got the one thing that he had wanted for a long time – his freedom.

He didn’t have to do much convincing to the higher ups and they instantly agreed to it, especially since Neal would have been set free of his anklet later that day.

After that day, Peter decided that he wouldn’t go in the field. He would go when someone requested some help but, overall, he chose not to. One of the reasons was because he wanted to be there for his wife and son, but another reason was because it wouldn’t feel the same without Neal.

He also ensured that he went back to the storage container with a few boxes so that everything could be easily accessed. If he didn’t find Neal on his short trip to Paris, he didn’t want to come home and find out that the storage container had been broken into and everything had been taken or destroyed as this would mean he would lose all of the leads that could be hidden within everything.

That was a last resort though as he was determined to find Neal within the week that he would be in Paris.

He made sure he left the office and went home earlier that day. He was leaving for Paris the next morning and he wanted to spend the night with Elizabeth and Neal.

“Hi, hon.” Elizabeth greeted from the kitchen.

Peter returned the greeting and gave her a kiss before moving towards Neal, who was sitting in his high chair while Elizabeth was cleaning the kitchen.

Peter sat in the chair closest and moved the high chair so that Neal was facing him. He smiled at his son when he noticed how happy he seemed to be to see his father was home.

“Are you sure that you’ll be alright?” Peter asked, glancing up at Elizabeth when she approaching and claimed the seat next to his.

“We’ll be fine.” She smiled. “And we’ll be even better when you bring him home.”

Peter smiled at that. He could always rely on his wife to say the right thing.

“Is something wrong?” She asked when the silence prolonged.

Peter swallowed. “No. It just feels weird.”

Elizabeth gave him a confused look. “What feels weird?” She asked.

“I know I haven’t actually left to find him yet, but it feels similar to all those years ago when I was first chasing him.” He smiled at the memory.

“You’re not chasing him though.” Elizabeth stated.

Peter nodded.

“Do you think he might have committed some kind of crime that you don’t know about yet?” Elizabeth asked when she noticed the look on her husband’s face.

Peter shook his head. “No.” He said. “I couldn’t count the number of times that he mentioned that he didn’t want to run anymore and I asked him if he thought he could go straight after the anklet came off.”

“What did he say?” Elizabeth asked.

Peter smiled again, remembering that moment. “He said one simple word.” He turned to face his wife. “He said ‘yes’ and I believe him.”

Elizabeth smiled. “He deserves some happiness after everything he’s been through.”

Peter nodded in agreement. “Have you spoken to Sara lately?” He suddenly asked.

“Yeah. She said she was offered a better position at New York’s Sterling Bosch office.” Elizabeth explained. “She said that she loves London, but it isn’t her home. I think she’s coming back sometime next week.

“What are you thinking?” She concluded.

“I might need her help in Paris.” He stated.

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. “I’ll give her a call tomorrow.”

“Don’t tell her why.” Peter said as an afterthought. “I don’t think she’ll appreciate getting this information over the phone. It’s better if I tell her when I see her.”

Elizabeth understood that and agreed.

-•-

Elizabeth woke up the following morning to an empty bed. Peter had woken her up earlier in the morning to say that he was leaving for the airport before giving her a kiss.

Before she went downstairs, she checked on Neal who was still asleep. She remembered those nights when he was first born that neither her, or Peter, got much sleep because he was up crying most of the night. Now, though, Neal would sleep through the whole night. However, there was still the exception every so often.

She made sure that she had the baby monitor with her before she headed down the stairs.

It was currently eight-thirty in the morning, which meant that it was one-thirty in London. This was the perfect time for her to call Sara.

 _”Hi, Elizabeth.”_ Sara greeted. _”I wasn’t expecting a call from you?”_

“Yeah.” Elizabeth laughed. “I’m actually calling on behalf of Peter. When are you leaving London?”

 _”I was actually about to book my flight. The earliest flight I can get is on Tuesday.”_ Sara replied.

“You might want to make a quick detour first.”

 _”Why?”_ Elizabeth could here to confusion in Sara’s voice.

“Peter is currently on a flight to Paris and he thinks he might need your help.” Elizabeth explained.

 _”What’s happening in Paris?”_ Sara asked.

“Peter’s the best person to explain that to you.”

 _”Okay. I can get a flight there tomorrow.”_ Sara confirmed.

“Thank you, Sara. Peter will really appreciate this.”

_”I’ll send him the details of my flight when I get them.”_

“That’s great!” Elizabeth exclaimed.

_”I’ll see you soon, Elizabeth.”_

“You too, Sara.”


	2. Chapter 2

Peter arrived in Paris after a seven-hour flight. 

He noticed that he had an email from Sara that contained her flight details. That indicated that Elizabeth had spoken to her. 

He replied to her with the hotel he was staying at before getting into a taxi and heading there. 

He only went to the hotel to leave his luggage and check in with Elizabeth before he was already on his way to finding Neal. 

He decided that the first place to go was the ‘Louvre’ as that was the only specific location that Neal had left any evidence of at the warehouse. 

He didn’t know, exactly, what he would be looking for but if something screamed ‘Neal’, he would know. 

He went inside and wandered through the rooms, giving brief glances at all of the different pieces of artwork, but couldn’t find anything that indicated that Neal had been there. 

Eventually, he decided that his best way of finding Neal was to show a picture around to people and see if they had seen him. 

He looked down at the photo he had of himself with Neal. It was the one that Elizabeth had taken on the two of them, when they were helping Mozzie, before the takedown of Frank Deluca Jr.

He missed the times when the two of them would take on a new case and solve it in a record time.

He kept telling himself that he couldn’t get caught up in the memories. Especially now that he knows Neal is still alive and he doesn’t have any reason to sadly reminisce on the past. 

He showed the picture to almost everyone that he approached. However, all of these people turned out to be tourists which meant they wouldn’t have seen him, and if they did they wouldn’t have remembered him. 

The day ended up being long and he ended up being the last person to be leaving the museum as he kept showing the photo to all of the newcomers. 

“Excuse me.” Peter said, spinning around once he had left the museum to look at the security guard by the door. 

He knew he should try to speak French but, if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t know anything past the basic greetings. 

Luckily, the security guard seemed to know English, which relieved Peter to no end. 

“Can I help you, sir?” He responded, politely. 

Peter nodded. “Do you recognise this man?” he said, pointing to Neal in the photo.

The security guard nodded and Peter’s eyes widened at the fact that he may have found the key to finding his friend. 

“Yes. He teaches some art classes here.” 

Peter’s heart rate picked up. Neal had been here. 

“When?” He asked. 

“Every Saturday but he’ll also come a couple more times during the week. He doesn’t have a schedule for those days.” The security guard explained. 

Peter nodded. “It’s Saturday today.” He stated. “Was he here?” 

The security guard shook his head. “Haven’t seen him for a couple of weeks and he hasn’t called anyone to explain where he is.” 

That peaked Peter’s interest. It wasn’t like Neal to not show up without letting someone know. 

“Do you know where he lives?” 

The guard nodded. “I do, but why should I tell you?” 

Peter should have expected that. They weren’t going to give away someone’s address to someone who just showed up looking for him. 

“He’s my friend.” He stated. He knew that he was going to say more than that to get the security guard to give him Neal’s address though. “We lost contact and I’ve been trying to find him. I know how much he likes and admires art so I thought he would be here.” 

Nothing about what he said was a lie but, when he thought about it, Neal would be pleased with him. 

The guard nodded, obviously pleased with what Peter had just said. “He actually doesn’t live too far away.” He grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from the inside of his jacket pocket and wrote something down. “This is his address.” He said, handing the piece of paper to Peter.

Peter gave him a smile. “Thank you.” 

-•-

Peter decided that is would be best if he went back to the hotel before he went further. He also needed to ensure that he got some rest, especially after a plane journey and seemingly-endless hours of showing a photo to anyone he saw. 

He also need some time to think about what he was going to say to Sara when he sees her the following afternoon. He thought the best way to explain why they’re in Paris was not to sugar coat anything. 

Sara had been back to New York once since Neal’s ‘death’ and that was for the funeral. 

Every time himself, or El, had asked Sara about the next time she would be visiting she’d always say that she didn’t know. 

Sara didn’t have to say anything for Peter to know that the reason she hadn’t visited again was because being in New York brought back all memories she has with Neal. 

However, she later decided that she wanted to come back to New York. She had admitted that the memories are going to be a recurring thing but she was getting lonely in London and, she said, as long as she has friends in New York, she’ll be fine. 

Peter didn’t know how she’d react to the news that Neal was alive but it wasn’t something he was going to keep from her. 

With that thought process complete, he retrieved his phone and updated his wife on the information he had gathered throughout the day. 

-•-

Sara’s plane arrived late the following morning. She had a busy day before she left as she had to ensure that everything was sent to New York and that there weren’t any lose ends before she left. 

Now, Sara stood outside of the airport in Paris with her suitcase sitting beside her whilst she waited for her taxi to arrive. 

She had no idea why Peter had asked her to come here and she had no idea why peter, himself, was here without his wife or child. However, she did know that it had to be seriously important if he was here alone. 

A taxi arrived at that moment and Sara got in for her trip to the hotel where she would be staying at – the hotel Peter told her he was staying at. 

Throughout the entire car ride she was getting more eager to find out why she was here and why Elizabeth couldn’t tell her other the phone the previous day. On the other hand, she was also worried about the reason she had come to Paris as she knew it had to be something big. 

Those thoughts repeated in her head for the whole taxi ride and, seemingly much quicker than expected, the taxi was pulling over in front of the hotel. 

“Thank you.” She said to the taxi driver before wheeling her suitcase into the reception area of the hotel. 

She had messaged Peter while she was standing outside of the airport to say that she had arrived and that she would be at the hotel soon. Peter had replied, saying that he would be waiting in the hotel’s restaurant. 

Before she met Peter she retrieved her hotel room key card from reception and took her luggage up to the room. 

“Peter.” She said, approaching the table that he was sitting at. “It’s been a while.”

“Sara.” Peter greeted, standing up and giving her a brief, friendly hug. “How have you been?” 

“I’ve been as good as expected.” She responded, taking a seat opposite of Peter.

Peter gave a brief, sad smile but didn’t say anything. They both knew that she was referring to Neal. 

“Why am I here, Peter?” She asked when the silence continued. “I’m assuming it’s because of something pretty serious if you’re here alone.”

“What makes you think that?” He asks, swerving the original question. 

Sara sighed. “If you were here as an agent then you’d have Jones or Diana with you and if you were here for a holiday you’d have Elizabeth and Neal with you.” 

Peter nodded. “You’re right. I’m here on my own.”

“Why?” Sara asked, going back to her first question. 

“I recently came across some evidence.” He started, struggling to figure out the right way to explaining everything. 

Sara looked confused. “Evidence of what?”

Peter didn’t respond, he just sat in silence, still struggling to use the right words. Finally, he said, “I think he would want you to know.”

That didn’t wipe the confusion off of Sara’s face. “Who?”

“Neal.” Peter replied without any hesitation. He knew that if he stalled he wouldn’t have said it. 

Sara’s features relaxed a bit. “What’s Neal got to do with this?”

Confusion still coated her words. She didn’t understand how her dead ex-boyfriend could be involved in something after so long. 

“The other day I found this storage container.” He paused for a second. “All of this was inside.” He then finished, placing photos of the contents of the storage container on the table between them. 

Sara spent quite a few minutes examining the pictures. She paid extra attention to the board that detailed how someone would fake their death before realisation finally dawned on her. 

“He-“ She begun, staring at Peter. 

Peter nodded. “He’s alive and he’s here, in Paris, somewhere.”

Sara couldn’t stop the water that was filling her eyes. “But why would he do something like this?” 

“I don’t know.” Peter admitted. “But I want to find out.”

Sara took in a deep breath to help calm herself down. “How are we going to find him?”

“I think I already have.”

“How?”

“When I arrived yesterday I went to the ‘Louvre’ and showed a photo around. Long story short, the security guard recognised him and knew where he lived.” He retrieved the small piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Sara. 

Sara looked down at the address written on the piece of paper in disbelief. She had spent many nights hoping that Neal’s death was a horrible nightmare, but every time she woke up, he still was. 

“Are you alright?” Peter asked. 

Sara smiled. “I don’t know. I feel over-the-moon but I also feel angry at him.”

Peter nodded. “I understand that feeling.”

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Sara huffed out a small laugh. “You know, when I first moved to London I would imagine moving back to New York because the job wasn’t what I thought it was going to be or Neal moved to London after his sentence was up.” She let a couple of tears slip. “That proposal at the top of the Empire State Building was the most, genuinely, happy I have ever been. He told me that he had another speech planned but decided not to use it because he meant the one that he did use.”

Peter sat and listened in silence. 

“I wanted him to be the reason that I stayed in New York but he didn’t want to hold me back from pursuing what I wanted to do.” She smiled briefly at the memory of that day. “Ultimately, I thought that, no matter what, we would get married and build a life together. I wanted that.”

Peter smiled, sadly. “He had one girlfriend after you left but she was just using him to get something she wanted. He loved her and her betrayal changed him. However, during all of that he never looked at her the same way as he looked at you.”

“Really?”

Peter nodded. “Really.”

“So, how are we going to approach him?” Sara asked.

Peter shrugged. “I was thinking that we go to this address and find him.”

“Just see how it plays out?”

“Exactly.”

-•-

Peter and Sara stood outside of the apartment complex that Neal was supposedly residing in. 

There was nothing special about the exterior of the building and the hallways inside resembled a regular apartment complex with the laminate flooring and the light coloured walls. 

They climbed the stairs to the third floor – the floor where Neal should, currently, be. 

As they turned the corner on the third floor they noticed that the door at the end of the hallway was gaping open.

Peter and Sara both looked at the apartment numbers of the nearby apartments before concluding that the apartment at the end of the hallway was their destination – the apartment where Neal should be. 

Peter herded Sara behind him as he slowly began to approach the open door. 

Sara was following, silently, behind but make her way next to him when they finally reached the threshold on the door. 

They gave each other a quick look before taking that final step into the apartment. 

What they hadn’t noticed from the other end of the hallway was that the apartment was a mess. 

Chairs were lying on the ground – obviously thrown back from the table that was still standing – and everything that once had a place on the counters and other surfaces were littered on the floor. 

However, more importantly, there was someone else in the room. He was standing directly at the centre of the destruction of the whole apartment. 

“Mozzie?” Peter said, taking in the equally shocked expression upon the short guys face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'll try to update as often as possible but please feel free to leave suggestions in the comments.


	3. Chapter 3

“Mozzie.” Peter said, noticing the short, familiar man that stood before him. 

Mozzie turned when he heard Peter’s voice. “Suit. What are you doing here?” 

“I could ask the same to you.” Peter responded. If someone else was standing in Mozzie’s place then Peter would assume that they had caused this mess but, one thing he knew was that Mozzie would never be that person. He would be here for the same reason as himself and Sara.

“Are you here for the same reason as I am?” Mozzie asked, even though he already knew what the answer was. 

Peter nodded. It wasn’t a coincidence that they were in Paris at the same time. 

“And, Sara?” Mozzie said, having only just noticed that she was standing there. 

“Peter told me. I’m here for the same reason.” She answered. 

Sara and Mozzie had seen each other since the Empire State Building con. 

They all stood in an awkward silence for a while before they remembered the mess that was surrounding them. 

“What happened here?” Peter asked, directing the question towards Mozzie as he was already in the room before himself and Sara had arrived. 

“I have no idea. I got here about five minutes before you two arrived.” Mozzie explained. 

At this point, Peter finally let the worry settle in. “This is bad.” He stated. 

Sara and Mozzie gave him a confused glance. 

“A security guard at the ‘Louvre’ gave me this address.” Peter explained. “He said that Neal was teaching some art classes on Saturday’s, along with some other days during the week, but he said that he hasn’t seen him in a few days.”

“That doesn’t sound reassuring.” Sara stated. It was obvious that she was beginning to think the same as what Peter had been thinking since he first received the information.

“You don’t think he was-?” Sara asked but was cut off. 

“I do, but I have no idea who could be looking for him.” 

“None of us has seen him in a year, or longer.” Mozzie noted. “We have no leads.”

Peter frowned. “Look around. We need to find something.”

The three of them began to search the apartment for anything that could indicate who had caused this mess but there was nothing and they all knew that if they did find something, there would be a huge chance that they wouldn’t even know who the person was. 

“There’s nothing here.” Sara said after a few minutes of searching. 

“There’s no blood anywhere, so I guess that’s reassuring.” Mozzie said. That was reassuring. It meant that Neal was injured. 

“At least we know this is where he’s living.” Peter shouted from the bedroom. 

Sara and Mozzie headed into the bedroom to see what evidence Peter had found that told him this was definitely where Neal was currently living. 

Peter had found a box in the cupboard and had placed it on the bed in the room. 

“Here.” Peter said, motioning to the framed pictures that he had lined up on the bed. 

One of the pictures was of Neal and Mozzie – it was one of the rare pictures they took. 

Another was of Neal and Sara. Sara remembered the photo being taken before their first official date. 

There was also one with Neal, Peter and Elizabeth. Peter remembered that as the day he realised that Neal was just a friend – he was part of their family. 

Next was a picture of the whole team at the FBI with Neal and Peter taking centre stage with Diana and Jones leaning on the desk beside them and the rest of the team surrounding them. 

Finally, was the picture El had taken of Neal and Peter in the tuxedos. It was the same picture that Peter had been showing around at the museum the previous day.

However, most importantly, all of the photos were in frames. 

“Why would they all be in frames but sitting in a box?” Mozzie queried. 

“I don’t know.” Peter responded, still glancing across all of the photos. 

“He obviously wanted to put them on display.” Sara stated. “Maybe he didn’t actually display them because he didn’t want to be constantly reminded of the people that he though he’d never see again.”

“That’s a good theory.” Peter said. 

“Or,” Mozzie started. “Maybe he hasn’t displayed them because ‘Neal Caffrey’ is dead. He’s probably using an alias here.”

Peter nodded. Both of those theories were good. 

“How did you even find this place anyway?” Peter asked, realising that he should have asked at the beginning of the conversation and to get away from the topic of the photos. 

“Similar to you.” Mozzie began. “I went to the museum but I overheard some people talking about how they haven’t seen their regular art teacher in a couple of weeks. I went up to them and asked who this art teacher was and when they finished describing him I realised that it was clearly Neal.”

“So, where did you get this address from?” Sara said, joining in. 

Mozzie’s eyes averted slightly. “I have my ways.”

Peter rolled his eyes. At least some things haven’t changed. 

They continued to search around the apartment but, still, nothing told them who had cause the mess. They didn’t even find anything else to indicate that this was Neal’s current place of residence. 

It was beginning to become obvious that he was trying to let go of that period of time of his life but wasn’t able to give it all up, which was evidenced by the photos they found. 

After ten more minutes they all regrouped in the main room of the apartment to think about what they were going to do next. 

Peter was standing by the entrance to the bedroom, Sara was standing near the kitchen area of the room and Mozzie was standing in the direct eyesight of anyone who could be walking down the hallway outside. 

“Moz?” A voice suddenly said, in a shocked, yet pleasant tone from the direction of the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is short than the previous ones. My friend was kinda begging me to post it now : )


	4. Chapter 4

“Moz? Is that you?” The familiar voice said once again, now sounding as if they were just outside of the apartment door. 

Surely enough, the owner of the voice stepped into the apartment at that exact moment. 

He gave Mozzie a slight, welcoming smile before he realised that there were other people in the room. 

His eyes first landed on Sara with surprise, before finally looking directly at Peter with a frightened intensity. 

“Neal.” Peter said feeling a hurricane of emotions overcome him. He was relieved that the theory he had when he left the museum yesterday was wrong. He was angry that Neal pulled this stunt by faking his death. He was annoyed with the look that Neal was glaring at him. However, most importantly he was happy for the simple reason that Neal was standing in front of him and he was alive.

“Sara. Peter.” Neal said with uncertainty. 

Peter took a sudden step forward, causing Neal to take a step back. 

Peter noticed that instantly and raised his hands to show that he wasn’t going to do anything. 

Neal didn’t react again as Peter took another step in his direction and surprised them both by pulling him into a hug.

He allowed all of those other emotions to float away for the time being and just focused on the extreme happiness he was feeling. 

It crossed his mind that this might have been a dream but when he wrapped his arms around the man he hadn’t seen in a year and took in that he was breathing and felt the warmth radiate off of him, he knew it was real. 

Neal brought his arms loosely around Peter in return to the hug. “I thought you’d be mad.” Neal commented, pushing Peter off of him. 

“Well…” He begun. “I am but we’ll deal with that another day.”

That didn’t help Neal to settle but it didn’t stop how pleased he was that Peter was happy, in some capacity, as this situation. “I’m sorry.” He said in a smaller tone. 

Peter was about to respond but Sara chose that moment to approach Neal. Peter took a step back in order to give them a little bit more room but decided to let Neal out of his sight. 

“You bastard!” Sara exclaimed, slapping Neal across the cheek. 

Neal brought his hand up to his cheek as a faint red mark started to appear. He looked shocked but he also held understanding in his eyes. He knew that he had hurt a lot of people. 

Sara’s mood then changed as she squeezed Neal into a hug. “I am pissed with you and we will be having a discussion about that but that doesn’t stop how happy I am to see you alive.”

Neal hugged her back briefly but pushed her away as well after a couple of seconds. 

He then turned to face Mozzie, who had be standing silently in the same spot as he watched the exchanges. 

“Moz…” Neal said slowly, voice filled with uncertainty. 

“Mon frère.” Mozzie greeted. “It’s good to see you.” 

They gave each other a brief hug – something they rarely did – before resuming their stances. 

“Are you mad as well?”

“It’s a strange day when I agree with the suit.”

Neal nodded. For the last year he knew this day would come – though he didn’t know all of the details – and every time he thought it over he never knew what would happen. A million different scenarios had floated around his head. However, one thing he did know was that the day he saw his friends and family again would be the best day of his life. 

“Did you guys have to cause such a mess?” Neal asked with a nervous laugh after he noticed the state of the apartment. 

Peter raised an eyebrow and noticed that Sara and Mozzie were making similar expressions. “This wasn’t us.”

“It wasn’t?” Neal asked, voice tinged with panic. 

“No.” Peter said. 

Neal looked at him and then looked at Sara and Mozzie, who were shaking their heads, for confirmation. 

Neal then darted for the bedroom. “I need to leave.” He said with more panic. 

Peter intercepted him before he reached the bedroom door. “What happened, Neal? Who did this?” 

Neal reached into his jacket pocket and brought out a piece of paper. “I received this a couple of weeks ago.” He said, passing the piece of paper to Peter before moving around him to get into the bedroom. 

Peter watched him as he grabbed a suitcase and a couple of bags and begun to pack various items for a couple of seconds. 

Neal,

I understand that you have faked your death and are now living on a different continent to the man you said was more of a father to you. 

I have a job that requires your specific talents but I know you won’t do this willingly so we’ll have to do it the hard way. 

Don’t think you can hide from me forever, son. I will find you and I will get what I want. 

J.B. 

“What is it?” Sara and Mozzie asked in unison. 

Peter held the notes towards them. Sara took it and held it infront of herself and Mozzie so that they could both read it clearly. 

They both looked up from reading the note in shock. 

Mozzie hadn’t trusted James the last time he saw him and he was correct about that assumption. At the beginning he had told Neal that he should get to know his father, despite his flaws, because he, himself, has always wanted to know who his parents were and why they left him. 

Sara wasn’t there in the aftermath of the Empire State Building con as she was on her way to London but Neal had explained, excluding major details, what had happened. 

Neal tumbled out of the bedroom with his suitcase trailing behind him and other bags perched on his shoulders. 

He still knew how to pack light. 

“Whoa.” Peter said as Neal made a beeline for the front door of the apartment. 

“Peter.” He addressed before looking around the room. “Sara, Mozzie. It was nice seeing you again but I need to leave.”

“No you don’t!” Sara exclaimed. “Do you expect us to watch you leave after we spent a year of believing you were dead?” 

Neal flinched slightly at that and turned to face away from Sara. He went to make another step in the direction of the door but was stopped short by Peter, who had placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“Where do you plan on going?” He asked. 

Neal took a deep breath. “I don’t know. Wherever the next convenient flight is going, I guess.”

“So you don’t have a plan?” Peter asked, but was more stating a fact.

Neal let his entire posture slouch. 

“Come back to New York. We can help you.”

Neal shook his head. “I can’t do that. I can’t let you all help me after the pain I put you through.”

Peter sighed. “I’m not going to lie to you. This last year has been painful but you’re still our friend.”

Peter looked towards Sara and Mozzie for reassurance. 

“He’s right, Neal.” Sara said. 

Neal turned back around so that he was facing the other three occupants. 

Mozzie was nodding in the background, agreeing with what Peter said. 

Neal continued to shake his head though. “I can’t ever go back to New York.” He said, and Peter could see the pain in that statement. “Technically, you should be arresting me.”

Peter looked confused. “And why’s that?” he asked, slowly, expecting Neal to confess to a crime. 

“I ran.” He said, in a small and defeated voice. 

Peter understood where he was coming from. He was thinking that this is similar to when he fled to Cape Verde. 

“You wanted your freedom and you got your freedom.” Peter shrugged.

“No. I ran before I could get my freedom.”

Peter frowned at that. “Did you really think I would have let you—” He swallowed slightly. “die without your freedom?” 

“You mean—”

Peter nodded. “’Neal Caffrey’ is a free man. The FBI can’t argue with the paperwork for that.”

For the first time since he found Neal, he saw a genuine smile appear on his face. 

“Will you come back to New York and allow us to help you?” Peter asked again. 

Neal nodded. “I can’t stay here though.” He said, referring to the apartment. 

“Don’t worry about that. Grab everything you need and we’ll leave here.”

-•-

Neal didn’t have much more to take with him so when he was ready they made their way out to the main street to get a taxi. 

Peter told the driver the name of the hotel he (as well as Sara) were staying at. The hotel would have only been a fifth teen minute walk but they concluded it would be easier to get a taxi with the number of bags Neal had. 

Once they arrived Neal went up to the reception desk to get a room for the night. 

“Where are you staying?” Peter asked Mozzie. 

“A hotel around the corner but I’ll get a room here.”

Peter nodded in response as he saw the receptionist hand Neal the key to his room. 

“We need to find a flight for the four of use for tomorrow.” Peter told Neal. 

Neal nodded as he pressed the button for the elevator. “Let me know the time.” 

The elevator doors opened and Neal moved to get in but Peter stopped him by grabbing him by the elbow. 

Neal turned his head to face him.

“Don’t bail on us.” He said, letting go of his elbow. 

Neal smiled a genuine smile. “Never again.”


	5. Chapter 5

Peter was with Sara in her hotel room – searching for four plane tickets on a flight bound for New York - when they heard a knock on the door. 

Sara opened it to reveal Mozzie. “What are you doing here? We thought you’d be with Neal.”

“I’ve been knocking on his hotel room door for the past half hour but he isn’t answering.” Mozzie explained.

Peter stood up from the chair he was currently occupying. “I’ll go check on him.”

Unfortunately for them, all four of them were given rooms on different floors. Neal’s room was on one of the higher floors so Peter got into the elevator and made his way there.

Peter knocked on the door but Neal didn’t answer. He tried again with the same result. On his third attempt he pressed his ear against the door to listen for any noises or movements from inside. There was nothing. It was silent. 

“I don’t think he’s in there.” Peter said when he arrived back at Sara’s hotel room. 

Mozzie was still there. “Where would he go?” He asked. 

“I think I might know.” Peter responded. “Should we all get something to eat?”

Sara nodded and Mozzie trailed behind them as they made their way to the hotels restaurant. 

“Where do you think he is then?” Sara asked when they stepped off of the elevator.

Peter stopped at the entrance to the restaurant. “There.” He said, pointing to where Neal was sitting at a table. 

-•-

Neal had been sitting in the hotel restaurant since it opened for the evening. 

There were two reasons why he had been. Firstly, it gave him some time to think about the note from his father and what he was going to do to solve that problem. Secondly, it got him away from everyone else. Of course, he was happy to see them but it also pained him at how much pain he would have put them all through. 

“Thought you could eat dinner without us?” A familiar voice said, breaking him out of his thoughts. 

He looked up to see the owner of the voice belonged to Peter. Sara and Mozzie were also standing behind him. 

Neal didn’t say anything in response, he just smiled lightly when they all occupied a chair each around the table. 

-•-

The four of them had left the hotel in the morning of the following day as they had to get to the airport for their flight back to New York.

They weren’t able to get four seats near each other on the flight but they did manage to get two people sitting next to each other. Therefore, Peter ended up sitting next to Sara while Neal and Mozzie sat next to each other. 

“I’m sorry I rushed you out of London, Sara.” Peter said when the plane was flying through the air. “Have you got a place to stay?”

“Don’t worry about it. I would have been leaving within the next few days anyway.” She smiled. “And yes, I’ve booked myself into a hotel for a couple of nights and there are a few apartments that I’ll be looking at.”

“When do you start your job?” 

Sara shrugged. “They told me to take a few weeks to settle down before starting.”

At that point a steward had come by and asked if they wanted a drink, to which they accepted. 

“Does Neal seem different to you?” Sara asked after they received their drinks. 

Peter nodded.

“He didn’t seem happy to see us…” She continued in a smaller voice. 

“He is. The only reason I can think of is that he feels bad for what he did.” Peter said.

“Why did he do it?” Sara asked. “Why did he fake his death? Did he want to get away from everyone that much?” 

“I don’t know the reason, but I intend to find out.”

-•-

Neal sat in the window seat and listened to Mozzie ramble on about all of the things they could have done if Neal had told him that he was going to fake his death. 

After ten minutes of the constant talking, Neal had finally had enough. “Stop it, Mozzie! I don’t want to do that stuff anymore!” 

Mozzie looked startled by the tone of Neal’s voice but obeyed and decided to stop talking about it. 

Neal had tuned out all sounds after that and only caught the tail end of something someone was saying. 

“—give us a minute.” 

Neal turned his head around to see Mozzie getting out of his seat and Peter occupying it. 

“How are you?” Peter asked. 

“Fine.” Neal answered. 

“You don’t sound ‘fine’” Peter responded. “What’s wrong?” 

Neal shook his head. He didn’t want to answer that question. 

“Neal, we’re all worried about you.” 

“Why?” 

“Because you’re our friend.” 

“I shouldn’t be.” 

Peter was taken aback by that comment. “Why not?” 

“Why not?!” Neal said, slightly raising his voice before lowering it again. “I faked my death and, by doing that, I hurt all of the people that I’ve ever cared about.” 

Neal turned to face the window after that. 

Peter sighed. “This past year has been hard.” He agreed. “And every day I have wished that you were still alive so that you could meet my son. I was ecstatic when I found out that you were still alive, so was El, and even happier when I saw, for my own eyes, that you were alive. 

“Yes, we are hurt by what you did but that doesn’t stop any of us from caring about you and calling us our friend. Or family, to myself and El.” 

Neal had turned around halfway through Peter’s speech and, by the end, water had begun to gather in the corners of his eyes. 

“Family?” Neal repeated in a small voice.

Peter nodded. “I have no idea why you did what you did but I’m assuming it was for a good reason.”

Neal didn’t react. He didn’t want to discuss this. 

Peter was about to open his mouth and ask the question but Mozzie came back and demanded that he have his seat back. 

Peter just quietly went back to his seat.

-•-

By the time he arrived home, Peter was exhausted. It was early evening by the time he arrived home in New York due to the time difference. 

“Hon? Is that you?” Elizabeth said from upstairs. 

“It’s me, El.” Peter replied as he slumped on the couch. 

“That was a much shorter trip than I thought it was going to be.” She said, reaching the bottom of the stairs. 

Peter nodded. He thought he was going to be in Paris for, at least, a week. 

Elizabeth took a seat beside Peter on the couch. “Neal’s taking a nap. Now, tell me how it went. Did you find him?” 

Peter nodded, again. “We did.” 

“What happened?” 

Peter sighed before explaining everything that had happened while he was in Paris. He explained how he went to the ‘Louvre’ and found out where Neal was staying. He explained how he and Sara had found Mozzie in Neal’s apartment, which was covered in destruction. He explained the moment he saw Neal for the first time in a year.

“That sounds like quite an eventful couple of days.” Elizabeth smiled. 

Peter chuckled. “Yeah.”

“Where are Neal, Sara and Mozzie now?” Elizabeth queried. 

“I’m assuming Mozzie has gone to one of his safe houses. Sara’s staying at a hotel until she’s found an apartment that she likes and Neal said he was going to stay in a hotel tonight.” 

“You should have invited him here.” Elizabeth said. 

“I did but he didn’t want to. I don’t even know if he’s happy to see me.” 

“Why’s that?” Elizabeth asked, genuinely curious. 

Peter shrugged. “I don’t know. It could be because he wanted to get away from me last year or it could be because of James.” 

“James?” Elizabeth asked. “James Bennett? Neal’s father? What’s he got to do with any of this?” 

“Neal received a letter from him while he was in Paris. He wants him for something and said he will find him and get what he wants.” 

Elizabeth looked shocked. “You know the issues that James caused.”

Peter nodded.

“I assume you’re going to see him tomorrow.” 

Peter nodded, again. He’d been doing a lot of nodding since he got home. 

“I’m coming with you. With Neal, of course.”

Peter raised his eyebrows. “Is that a good idea?” He asked. He wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea based on how Neal had acted with trying to avoid Peter, Sara and Mozzie. 

“Of course.” Elizabeth exclaimed. “Plus, he has a nephew to meet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter again. I might take a bit longer to post the next few chapters as I want to convey my ideas/storyline in the best way.
> 
> Note: Of course, I know Neal and Peter are not brothers but I feel like Baby Neal would call him 'Uncle Neal'.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Neal stared out the window of his hotel room. He was back in New York. The only place that he had truly called his home. Now though, he felt different.

He had a bittersweet feeling about New York and the people he associated with the location.

He watched as multiple yellow taxi cabs passed and many more people walked down the street. He realised why New York meant so much to him. Of course his friends and family were at the top of the list but he also enjoyed the pace.

When the plane had landed he went in a different direction to everyone else and no on followed after him. He didn’t want anyone to know where he was staying, though Peter probably figured it out.

He had received three different invited. Peter invited him to his house – he declined the offer. Mozzie invited him to one of his safehouses – he also declined that offer. Lastly, Sara offered for him to come back to her hotel – again, he declined the offer.

It felt strange to be back in New York, even though he’s been dreaming of the day he’d come back since the moment he stepped on that plane to go to Paris.

A lot of things have changed in the year he’s been away.

The only thing he kept thinking was that he didn’t deserve to be back in the lives of the people he hurt.

-•-

Neal set out early the following morning. He needed to get reacquainted with the city before he spoke to anyone else.

The first place he went was to the coffee shop that he frequented almost every day. He let out a moan of approval after the first sip. The coffee tasted exactly the same as he remembered.

His mind then wandered off to the thought of June and her amazing Italian Roast.

He missed her and wanted to see her again but what would he say?

_Hi June. I’m alive._

Or…

_Hi June. I faked my death because it was the right thing to do. Can I come in?_

He shook his head. He couldn’t think of that at the moment. He needed to focus on what his father – no, James – wanted. He wasn’t prepared to put anyone in danger because of him, especially since that was his aim a year ago.

Plus, in the eyes of the law, ‘Neal Caffrey’ was dead.

That statement was verified when he looked down. Somehow, without realising it, he had wandered into the cemetery and was standing directly in front of his headstone.

For the first time Neal didn’t know what to do.

This headstone symbolised the beginning of his new life. It’s not the life he wanted but he’d managed. It also symbolised the beginning of everyone else’s lives. Peter and Elizabeth had a child. Sara’s beginning her dream job. Mozzie’s succeeding within his new empire.

None of these people needed him.

They had survived without him for a year. They could survive without him for longer.

“Neal.” A voice said, bringing Neal back to reality.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. “What are you doing here?” It was Peter.

Neal shrugged. “Just thinking.”

Peter frowned. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Neal let a gentle laugh escape.

“What?” Peter asked, confused.

“It’s just—You’ve never said that to me before.”

Peter still didn’t understand what Neal’s point was but didn’t say anything else.

“How did you find me?”

“We went to your hotel but you weren’t there.” Peter said. “The person at reception said that you left around eight o’clock this morning. Have you been here all this time?”

Neal retrieved his phone from his pocket to check the time. It read twelve o’clock. Midday.

“I grabbed some coffee first.”

Peter didn’t look pleased with the answer. “We’ll sort this out.” He said, motioning to where the headstone was. “Do you want to grab something to eat?”

Neal nodded, slowly, before following Peter.

-•-

Elizabeth sat in the little café that was a block away from the cemetery where Peter thought Neal would be.

Little Neal was sitting in the high chair that the café generously supplied for her.

Elizabeth smiled at her son. He seemed so happily unaware of why they were here.

She wished that she was unaware of the reasons they were here. This was going to be the first time she has seen Neal since the previous year and she had no idea of how she was going to react when she saw him.

However, she didn’t get much of an opportunity to think about it as the front door to the café opened. Peter stepped through the threshold first, holding the door open for the next person to take.

“Neal.” She said, standing up. It was the only thing she could think of saying.

“Hi Elizabeth.” Neal said when he was within arm distance.

It didn’t escape Elizabeth’s attention that Neal didn’t display his usual smile when he greeted her but she ignored that for the moment.

She pulled him into a hug. “I’m so glad to see you.” She said, ignoring the water that was filling her eyes.

Neal didn’t say anything in response but he did arms around to wrap around her.

“Shall we get something to eat?” Peter then asked, causing them to break their hug.

“That would be great, hon.” Elizabeth replied while Neal just nodded.

They all took a seat at the table but Neal couldn’t help staring at the child that was seated opposite him.

They all ordered their lunch – sandwiches and coffee – before any conversation resumed.

Elizabeth smiled and picked her son up from the high chair he was sitting in. “This is your uncle Neal.” She cooed, getting her son to look in the direction of Neal.

Neal’s expression softened and he displayed a small smile.

_Uncle._

They want him to be their child’s uncle.

Elizabeth stopped cooing and looked towards Neal. “Neal.” She paused. “This is Neal.”

Neal’s smile immediately disappeared. He looked at Peter, then back to Elizabeth and the child that they had named after him. They were smiling.

Neal pushed his chair back. “Excuse me.” He said before fleeing to the bathroom.

Peter and Elizabeth stared at his fleeing figure in shock.

“Is this what you meant when you said he’s different?” Elizabeth asked.

Peter nodded.

Elizabeth placed Neal back in the high chair. “Hon. He’s still the same person we know. I think, at this moment in time, he’s feeling a lot of guilt. We need to remind him that he has a family here. A family that wants him here.”

-•-

Neal gripped the sink when he got into the bathroom.

He looked up at himself in the mirror but couldn’t see that same person that he was so acquainted with a year ago.

_They named their son after me._

He wouldn’t admit it out loud but that scared him.

It scared him that he had made that much of an impression in their lives that they named their son after him.

They named their son after the one person who hurt them in the worst possible way.

He didn’t know what he was going to do about that but he did know that he couldn’t allow James to wreck anymore havoc in their lives.

This told him that he would have to deal with his father – no, James – alone.

-•-

Their lunch had arrived by the time Neal came back to the table.

“Everything alright?” Peter asked, voice laced with concern.

Neal smiled. “Yeah. Everything’s fine. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Elizabeth cut in. “I want to know what you’re going to do now that you’re back in New York.”

Neal picked up his knife and fork and began to cut the sandwich on the plate in front of him.

_Still uses a knife and fork for something that is designed to be eaten with your hands._ Peter, silently, laughed to himself.

“I don’t know.” Neal replied. “I suppose I need to get a job, not that anyone would hire me.”

“Why would you say that?” Elizabeth asked.

Neal shrugged in a way that said _isn’t it obvious_. “I’m living off an alias that doesn’t have any past work history.”

“Weren’t you teaching art lessons in Paris?” Peter asked after he swallowed a bite of his sandwich.

Neal nodded. “There’s no record of it though. It was all ‘cash in hand’.”

“Never mind that though.” Elizabeth said, gleefully. “Once ‘Neal Caffrey’ has finally risen from the dead you’ll be able to get a job.”

Neal shook his head. “I think it’s best if he stays dead.”

Silence followed as all three of them stopped eating. “Plus, ‘Neal Caffrey’ is a criminal. No one would hire me.” Neal finally said when he realised what he had said.

“Nonsense.” Peter said. “I know somewhere that would hire you and I know someone who would love to have his partner back.”

“No.” Neal said. “You know I don’t have faith in the system anymore. As soon as they know I’m alive they’re going to arrest me.”

Peter sighed. “No they won’t. I told you that I ensured you had your freedom before you ‘died’. If they try, I won’t let them.”

This time Neal sighed. Then he nodded. “Okay.”

Peter looked surprised at how little it took to convince Neal. _He’s planning something and he isn’t telling me._

“I’m going to go the office later and sort some things out.”

“That gives me and Neal the perfect opportunity to catch up.” Elizabeth smiled.

-•-

“You named your son after me.” Neal said.

Elizabeth had brought Neal back to the house while Peter was at the office.

Elizabeth smiled. “We did.”

“Can I ask why?”

Elizabeth then displayed a saddened expression before standing in front of him. “Because it felt right.” She answered, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. “Do you want something to drink?”

“Sure. Coffee please.” Elizabeth smiled again, retreating to the kitchen.

Neal walked to the dining room and sat in one of the seats at the table. Little Neal was sitting in his high chair.

“There you go.” Elizabeth said, placing a cup of coffee on the table in front of him.

“Thanks, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth patted his shoulder. “I’ll be back in a sec. Watch Neal for me?”

Neal nodded and Elizabeth ran up the stairs.

Neal looked at Neal, who was giving him a curious expression.

“You have pretty awesome parents, kid.” He smiled, which made Neal giggle.

“I wish I had parents like yours when I was younger.”

Neal just kept giggling. He had no idea what Neal was saying but he, obviously, liked him.

“Maybe when you’re a bit older I’ll teach you how to pick a lock.”

That didn’t get the reaction he was expecting though as Neal started crying.

“Don’t cry.” Neal said with wide eyes. “I thought we were getting along.”

The crying continued and Neal began to get more worried.

“Don’t cry.” He repeated, picking Neal up from his high chair.

“Shh.” He kept saying as he swayed the child from side to side in a supporting hold.

He kept this motion going until the crying had died down a bit.

“I know who I’m getting to babysit him.” Elizabeth said.

Neal turned so that he was facing her. “Who? Me?”

Elizabeth laughed. “Yes. You. You’re a natural.”

Neal accepted the compliment but frowned. “I made him cry though.”

“That’s not true.” Elizabeth said, matter-of-factly.

“How-“ Neal began to say.

Elizabeth pointed over to the kitchen counter. “You heard it over the baby monitor?”

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. “He probably just needs changing.”

-•-

Peter walked into the office to see the regular hustle bustle of the working day.

“Peter, you’re back earlier than expected.” Jones greeted as he followed Peter to his office at the top of the stairs.

“Yeah. I’m surprised at the short amount of time I was gone. I thought I was going to need a week, at least.” Peter responded.

“Well?” Jones asked, standing by the door.

Peter looked up towards Jones with a questioning look.

“Did you find him?” He then asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Neal. Did you find him?”

Peter could only assume that he had a shocked expression on his face at that moment.

“Come on.” Jones smiled. “You had this certain look last week when you asked me to look after things here. You only get that look when it’s about Caffrey.”

Peter smirked. _I knew I picked these people to be on my team for a reason._ He thought to himself.

Peter nodded. “I can’t tell you anything about it at the moment. I need to sort some things out first.”

Jones nodded. “If you need any help then I’m there and when Diana gets back later this week, she will too.”

“Thanks Jones.”

Jones turned to face the direction of the bullpen. “Tell Caffrey I said ‘Hi’.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Have you had that conversation with Neal yet?” Elizabeth asked.

It was the evening and Peter and Elizabeth were both settled on their living room couch. Elizabeth had told Peter about how Neal acted with Neal.

“No.” Peter sighed. “Every time I bring up the subject something or someone interrupts. I don’t know though. Before those interruptions occur he looks like he’s trying to find a way out of the conversation.”

“Oh, hon.” Elizabeth sighed. “I think you’ve just got to give him some time.”

“But when has it been too much time?” Peter asked.

Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t know, but I do know that he wouldn’t have got on that plane if he didn’t want to be here.”

Peter seemed to think that over for a few seconds. “You’re right.” He finally said.

Elizabeth just smiled. “What are you going to do about James?” She asked.

“I don’t know yet. I’ve told Mozzie and Sara to come here tomorrow. Neal as well. So we can work something out.” Peter explained.

“Did you explain any of those details to Neal?” Elizabeth asked.

Peter frowned.

“If you don’t involve him like you used to then he’s going to deal with this on this own.” Elizabeth said and Peter began to think about how this was going to work from this moment forwards.

-•-

Sara had spent a busy day viewing various apartments in the city before she went back to her hotel room.

She had found an apartment that she liked and said that she would take it. However, she would have to wait a few days, possibly a week, before she could actually move in.

On the other hand, it was close to the Sterling Bosch building so she wasn’t complaining.

She rounded the corner to the hallway that lead straight to her hotel room and stopped. Someone was standing by the door.

“Didn’t fancy picking the lock?” Sara laughed as she resumed walking.

Neal looked down the hallway and smiled. “I just got here.”

“Sure.” Sara smiled, opening the door. “Come in.”

Neal nodded. “Thanks.”

An awkward silence captured the room.

“We need to talk.” Neal said, breaking the silence.

Sara nodded and waited for him to carry on.

“Before that though, I need to tell you that I don’t regret what I did. I did what was necessary to keep the people I care about safe and I would do it again if a similar situation arose.” Neal explained.

Sara frowned. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

“I don’t.”

Sara shook her head. “We had separate lives. I was in London. You were in New York.” She shrugged. “We weren’t together. Even if we were together it would have been hard for us to see each other.”

Neal nodded and stayed silent.

“You do owe an explanation to Peter though. I know for a fact that he was a wreck.” Sara didn’t say it to make Neal feel guilty, she said it to get him to open up to someone. “Anyway, what did you want to talk about?”

Sara sat down on the bed that occupied the room while Neal took a couple of steps further into the room.

“I feel like we should stay away from each other.”

“Excuse me?” Sara retorted. “You’re kidding me!”

Neal remained silent.

“You’re not thinking straight.” Sara stood up. “You say you did what you did to keep the people you care about safe but now you’re going to turn your back on those people.” Her voice rose with each sentence.

“That’s not—”

“Do you really dislike me that much that you need to get away from me?!”

“It’s because I love you!” Neal yelled.

Sara froze. “What?”

Neal sighed. “It’s because I love you. I never stopped loving you and if you get harmed because of what my fath- James – is doing…” He paused and looked down. “I—I don’t think I could ever forgive myself.” He looked up, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Sara swallowed. “I love you too.” She said, water also gathering in her eyes.

“I can’t let you get involved. It’s too dangerous.”

“When have I ever let that stop me?” She laughed. “And have you forgotten that I was there for the Empire State Building con?”

“Of course not but that was before I found out that he did kill his supervising officer.”

Sara stepped forward. “We have a better team.”

Neal stepped away, moving in the direction of the door. “I need to do this alone.”

“No you don’t. We won’t let you.”

Neal froze.

“Do you think that Peter and Mozzie are going to abandon you after they both travelled to a different continent to find you?”

Neal deflated a little. “And I suppose you won’t either.”

Sara walked around to face Neal, inadvertently blocking the direction of the door. “No.” She said, smiling.

Neal turned his head to the side and smiled gently.

“Stay here tonight.” Sara said, which shocked Neal. “We can go to Peter’s together in the morning.”

-•-

Sara accompanied Neal back to his hotel in the morning since he didn’t fancy wearing the same clothes two days in a row.

They were walking through the reception area towards to elevator when an recently familiar voice spoke up.

“Mr. Caffrey.” The woman behind the reception desk said. Neal knew her as the women who was standing in the same pace two days ago when he paid for the hotel room. “This was delivered for you.”

She held a piece of paper in her hand before placing it on the desk and sliding it to the other side.

Neal picked the piece of paper up with a suspicious feeling filling him. “Thanks.” He said.

He made no attempt at examining the piece of paper as he continued walking towards the elevator.

Sara walked beside him and didn’t utter a word until they were away from any prying eyes or ears.

“What’s on the piece of paper?” Sara asked when the door to Neal’s hotel room closed.

Neal shrugged, “It’s probably from James.”

Still, he made no move to read it. He just placed in on the desk that was in the room.

“Give me twenty minutes and we can go to Peter’s.” He said, changing the subject, before heading into the bathroom.

Sara nodded in acknowledgement and sat at the bottom of the bed.

She found herself continuously staring at the piece of paper that had been disregarded on the desk.

She wanted to know what it said and she knew that it was likely to be worse than what the previous note had said.

Before she knew it, twenty minutes had passed and Neal stepped out of the bathroom dressed in entirely different clothes.

He went over and picked the note up, along with his phone, and stuffed then into his jacket pocket.

“Aren’t you going to read it?” Sara asked, partly because she wanted to know what it said and partly because it wasn’t like Neal to ignore something.

“I did some thinking this morning and you’re right.” Neal responded, staring directly into Sara’s eyes.

Sara raised her eyebrows, “About?”

Neal sighed. “I can’t do this alone. I don’t have to like the fact that I’m including you, Peter and everyone else with this but…” He paused. ”I need you all to a certain point.”

-•-

Peter sat opposite Mozzie at the dining room table. He remembered a time, a few years ago, when Mozzie wouldn’t have even thought about stepping inside of their home.

Of course, neither one of them had any conversation topics so they sat in silence until someone else showed up, whether it was Elizabeth (who was upstairs with baby Neal) or Neal and Sara when they arrived.

They didn’t have to wait long as a knock was heard from the front door.

Peter rose from his seat and went to greet who had arrived. He opened the door to reveal both Neal and Sara standing there.

He motioned for them to come in and they all sat down at the dining room table after Peter had offered and given out drinks.

Peter stared directly at Neal. “Are you willing to let us help with this?” He asked, not because he would have accepted a ‘no’ but because he needed to know how he was going to approach this.

Neal nodded. “Yes.” He replied. “I wasn’t but you can thank Sara for that change.”

Peter turned to look at Sara and nodded a ‘thanks’.

Peter then opened his mouth to continue talking but didn’t get that far.

“Before we start,” Neal began. “I received this earlier.” He said, holding out a piece of paper that he had retrieved from his jacket pocket.

Peter’s eyes widened. “James?” He asked.

Neal shrugged. “I think so but I haven’t read it yet.”

Then Neal placed the piece of paper on the table in front of him before pushing it in Peter’s direction. “Can you read it first?” Neal’s voice sounded small.

Peter nodded as he picked the paper up. “Of course.”

“Tell me how bad it is.”

Peter nodded again before opening it.

_Neal,_

_I see that you have moved back to New York and that you are once again in contact with your ‘family’._

_I must admit, I’m surprised that they have gotten over how you faked your death._

_Anyway, none of that is going to stop me from getting what I want. You can either contact me willingly and this can be done in a short amount of time or be forced. I think the first option is best for the both of us._

_I’ll give you 48 hours before I take drastic measures._

_J.B._

Peter looked up and towards Neal. “This is getting worse.” He said, handing the note back to Neal.

Neal took a moment to read through the note.

“What are we going to do?” Sara suddenly said. If they were being honest, Neal and Peter both forgot that there were other people in the room.

Peter sighed. “I think we need to begin with bring ‘Neal Caffrey’ back to life.”


End file.
